It was a bitter sweet result for Northpoint Ekerold Honda at Round Two of the British Supersport Championship at Donington Park this weekend. The wet race was re-started three times before Cal Crutchlow took the win with a brave ride in the wintry conditions. Despite a strong performance which looked like a possible podium finish, Leon Camier fell victim to the atrocious weather and did not complete the race.

After heavy sleet and hailstones which resulted in Camier falling during the out-lap at Coppice the race start was delayed. As conditions worsened and the riders lined up on the grid for the shortened fourteen lap outing with large amounts of standing water around the circuit it was declared unsafe and the race was postponed to later in the afternoon.

The second re-start was not without it's excitement as Crutchlow headed straight into the lead with consistently fast laps in the terrible conditions. However, his fate was to turn when oil was deposited at Redgate by a faller's machine in lap seven and caused the twenty-year-old, who had a fifteen second lead, to fall. The race was restarted for a third time with the grid line-up as positions on the lap previous to the race being red flagged. The six lap sprint saw Crutchlow three seconds ahead by lap two a position which he increased to take the top spot with a six second lead at the chequered flag. This excellent result moves Crutchlow to the top of the table in the championship standings.

Camier completed lap one of the second re-start in sixth position and continued to make good progress as he crossed the line in fourth on lap five of the twelve lap race. The reigning SuperSport champion was looking comfortable and quickly gaining on second and third placed rivals prior to the race being stopped for the second time. Despite looking strong in fifth position on lap one of the restart Camier's race came to a premature end at Coppice. Camier is naturally disappointed with today's result but he and his crew have learnt a lot over the course of the weekend which he can take into the next round at Thruxton in only 5 days time.

Cal Crutchlow said; “I enjoyed the race and made the best of the bad conditions. Unfortunately the oil on the circuit which caused me to fall didn't help but I managed to overcome the crash in the second part and I am pleased to have taken the win. I'm looking forward to Thruxton and trying to build on my championship lead. The whole team did a fantastic job and I hope I can keep providing them with good results.”

Leon Camier said; “I'm obviously disheartened that I didn't manage to get a result today. I was looking good for a podium finish until the race was stopped and when it re-started I highsided due to the slippery conditions. As a team we have learnt lots about wet-weather setup and how the Pirelli tyres work in such conditions. I can only now look forward to the next round and work on getting some championship points.”

Team Principle Gary Ekerold said; “We are very happy with Cal 's great result and to be leading the championship. Any win helps us in our quest for the Championship and we hope to continue with this kind of form throughout the season. It was disappointing for Leon today, however it is still only the second race with eleven more to go. The conditions were horrendous and saw a lot of riders even those most experienced fall in all of the races. He won the championship last year with two DNF's so he now needs to forget today and re-focus in preparation for the race in a week's time.”

Northpoint Ekerold Honda's next outing is at Round Three of the British Supersport round at Thruxton on Monday 17 th April 2006 .